Roles
by Raz Gaiale
Summary: A little bit of fluff involving Rusty, Danny, and a few problems. Written before the second movie came out. Slash!


_Hi! I decided to take a stab at writing an Ocean's 11 ficlet…I was bored. Don't expect it to be much good. Anyway, this is just a slashy little PWP that takes place a while after the first movie ends. It's kind of an alternate version of the beginning of Ocean's 12. Benedict has tracked our heroes down and issued an ultimatum; Pay him back the money they stole with interest within two weeks, or he'll kill them. The rest I'm sure you can figure out. Enjoy!_

_Oh, I forgot: I don't own these guys. (I'm lying…I bought them on EBay last week!)_

**Roles**

"So", said Daniel Ocean. He shifted uncomfortably, the smooth leather of the sofa creaking softly in protest. He didn't look at the man sitting by his side.

"So", agreed Rusty Ryan, crossing his arms over his chest. The taller man leaned back so that his head rested on a black cushion. He was glad that he had decided on the leather furniture for his L.A. apartment. The material felt cool under the skin of his neck. Rusty closed his eyes and focused on that for a moment. It was a far more relaxing thing to focus on than the subject he and Danny weren't quite discussing.

The subject that involved a certain casino owner wanting a certain amount of money back, or he would certainly have them both killed.

Danny radiated tension, though he gave few outward signs of it. A few finger taps here, a slight twitch in his cheek there, nothing too overt. Rusty could feel it, though, pouring from his partner in waves. Danny had always been the more emotional one. It was usually an asset, giving him the fuel needed to formulate insanely brilliant schemes. At times like this, however, it was just one more obstacle to overcome.

Rusty had always admired Danny's bravery in letting his feelings out for all the world to see. It was something Rusty himself rarely did. A card shark had to be skilled at suppressing his emotions, or he didn't stay in the game very long. Plus, it was simply easier. Rusty liked looking at problems from a calm, analytical point of view. It was the reason his hair stayed golden blond while Danny's grew more and more silver, despite the fact that Danny was only two years older.

Gold and silver, analytical and emotional, planner and dreamer. 'Yup', thought Rusty serenely. 'We're the perfect pair. Now, if we can only keep from getting killed by Benedict's goons, life would be peachy.'

Danny turned his head slightly to look at Rusty's face. "Do you think she-", he burst out.

"No", interrupted Rusty firmly. Shit. He should have known this was coming.

"Well, she has a pretty good reason. I wouldn't really blame her if she did." He played with his shirtsleeves. "I _did _screw up her life."

Rusty sighed internally at the hitch of sadness in Danny's voice. He slid an elegant hand over Danny's thigh and raised his head to look at his longtime friend and once again lover. "Tess wouldn't rat you out to Benedict, no matter how upset she was. He's not exactly one of her favorite people either."

Danny snorted softly. He placed his own hand over Rusty's. He ran his thumb over his partner's knuckles, studying the smooth skin as if he didn't know every inch of it by heart. His tension began to dissipate. He wasn't quite ready to relinquish his guilt yet, though. "Yeah, well, Benedict also didn't turn her life upside down, waltz back after two years in prison and turn it upside down _again_, and then end up leaving her for a man."

'Ok', Rusty thought with a slight wince. 'Guess I'll have to concede that point.' "Tess'll be fine, Danny. She's a big girl. She'll find herself some boring rich guy who pretends to like art and be perfectly happy for the rest of her life."

A ghost of a smile filtered across Danny's face. "Yeah, I hope so."

"Now, us on the other hand….The rest of _our_ lives is going to be about two weeks if we don't pay Benedict back."

Danny sighed. "Well, we're meeting up with the others first thing in the morning. Hopefully we'll be able to pull together something lucrative enough before the deadline." His face darkened. "And then we can track down whoever it was that sold us out. There's no way Benedict found all eleven of us without help."

Rusty nodded in agreement. "At least when the job's done, if we're not dead, we'll be able to use our real names again." He paused. "Well, in _this _country anyway."

A grin broke out on Danny's face and he chuckled slightly. "What, you're tired of John Jones and James Smith already?" He lifted his free hand to brush the fingertips across Rusty's cheek. Rusty closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

"It was worth it, you know", Danny said quietly as he caressed the golden skin.

Rusty opened his eyes, forest green locking with warm brown. "The heist?"

"Well, yeah. 'Course. But I meant….Tess. She deserves a guy that can love her with everything he's got. Not a guy who's….just settling for second best. It was never going to be her for me. It wasn't….this." He slid a thumb across Rusty's well-defined cheekbone gently, almost reverently.

Rusty brought his hand around to hook the back of Danny's neck. He leaned in, and Danny met him halfway. They paused for a moment, feeling the heat emanating from each other's skin, before pressing their lips lightly together in a tender, undemanding kiss.

When they parted, Rusty smirked. In a low murmur he said, "So, I take it from that little speech that you consider me the best?"

Danny blinked. "Actually, that would be Linus. You're third on the list."

Rusty hadn't seen _that _one coming. He gaped at his lover, for once having no response.

Danny's face broke into a huge grin. He closed the gap between them again and took Rusty's mouth in another kiss. It took Rusty a moment, but he responded in turn, making a mental note to get Danny back later for that one. He briefly thought about moving this to the bedroom, but he lacked the will to stop even just long enough to cross the apartment. 'What he hell', he thought. 'I can always buy a new couch.' It was his last coherent thought before turning his attention completely to the amazing things his oldest friend was doing to his mouth. This kiss was more urgent, more passionate than the first. Hands roamed freely, leaving scorching trails as they glided over familiar skin. Bodies pressed close and melted together in a sweet tangle of flesh. Soon it was impossible to tell where gold ended and silver began.

As they lost themselves in the sensations and the growing heat, Rusty forgot that he was the calm, analytical card shark and that Danny was the emotional dreamer. He forgot their normal roles of plan man and idea man. They simply didn't matter. Those roles would have their place in a few hours, when he and Danny met with the others on the job that would save or condemn their lives. But for this moment, they were equals in every possible way. For this moment, they were content merely to be together, saying with loving hands and mouths what a thousand words couldn't express.

For now, the House couldn't touch them.


End file.
